Dethcentrik ~ The Fourth Reich (album review) ... Fanning the flames of revolution!

Style: experimental, avant-garde, industrial, instrumental
Label: Dod Incarnate
Year: 2013
Home: Colorado

Members: Stefan Klein ~ all instruments

I've been following the music of Stefan Klein, under the name Dethcentrik & Dod Beverte, for awhile now & have even made some music with him. I don't believe I'm being too biased when I say I hear a lot of change in the Dethcentrik music since the first album I heard. But, now I will be biased by saying it would be nice to think our work together had an effect on his latest music & we influenced each other. Early Dethcentrik is this challenging onslaught of furiously played guitars or drums against distorted keyboards & garbled vocals coming out of a band that has turned into a one man outpouring. Those early Dethcentrik albums have received more than one 'worst of' honor from music reviewers. Maybe such honors will still be granted, but I believe Dethcentrik should be given some new accolades for growing & changing & continually breaking expectations & moving beyond a small template with a lot of bravery to experiment & find new templates to meander through. My ego would like to say I helped push him in those directions as he helped me do the same. At one point, for many of us, it was not too wrong to call Dethcentrik industrial atonal black metal more furious than compositionally complicated. But, now I hesitate to even call this metal, or metal as most of us probably define it. Dethcentrik has moved much more experimental & into the land of sound landscapes, far more in the industrial realm than the traditional Mayhem-Burzum influenced outpourings Dethcentrik is known for. Now there's even incredibly unabashed social criticism in the lyrics ... which might have always been there but the new music reflects it musically versus just being heavily distorted guitars clashing with pounding drums. Now the songs have as much tortured anxiety as the lyrics with the creation of music that includes birds, thunder, wind, saws & other natural or maybe not sounds ... though heavily distorted beyond recognition. As for an additional note on the social criticism ... the interesting thing about Dethcentrik is that the group has had the label of Satanic metal attached to it. Nothing could be further from the truth ... that is if you deem any band that doesn't sing love songs or the John Denver or Beach Boys catalog Satanic. Or, I mean, if you call this Satanic we have to talk, from "Land of the Slaves & the Home of Pure Hatred": "Watch as this country dies, eating itself from the inside./Watch evil rise, gaining power through disguise./Watch the world burn as it ceases to properly turn ... /Watch the truth shine bright & with wings of justice the world take flight." Or is this Satanic, from "Pledge of Compliance": "I pledge compliance to the emblem of Shackledom/& to the dictatorship for which it stands/One state, under bigotry/With persecution and pain for all non-whites & non-Christians." I guess if criticizing our culture with lots of distortion Satanic ... well, didn't the Beach Boys throw in some distortion for a song or two once & their last album certainly had some social commentary. Satan reigns, I guess.

Dethcentrik ~ I Think You Got The Clean Version (album review) ... Its Dethcentrik, so there is no clean version!

Style: avant-garde, industrial, black metal, experimental, instrumental
Label: Dod Incarnate Records
Year: 2012
Home: Colorado

Members: Stefan Klein ~ all instruments
DJ Ribotic, Cold Metal Future ~ remixes

On this the final day of Pope Benedict XVI in office before becoming the first Pope Emeritus in hundreds of years it seems as good a time as any to share a review of Dethcentrik. I Think You Got The Clean Version brings up lots of assumptions even before the music spins. Some might be right. One assumption might be this is an album at one point so full of profanity that it would make a rapper blush. No, not really. There is no dirty-mouthed version & what's here I'd love to see if Tipper Gore called this is profanity. Is this profanity, Tipper, from "I Want To Kill Them All": "I want to kill them all/the rapists, dumb fucks/the rednecks, & their trucks/the idiots." It may not be Dylan-esque poetry but its straight from the gut feelings that many folks have & I don't call real feelings profanity. Okay, killing isn't good, but it doesn't take much to understand what the point is here. This is preening society of those who bring it down. Who has not wanted to do this? Even Tipper does. Or, even more so n "Realization Of Being In Hell": "Sometimes it feels like God hates me, like circumstances this bad can't be coincidence./The more I try to move past something/the more I'm reminded it's there./The further I look for the truth/more evidence for the lie I must bear./Why do I deserve to be here?" So, with these lyrics re-examine what you think the clean version might imply. Clean here might be a songwriter that's angry but by wiping away the lyrics that normally haunt his albums & leaving the anger to be interpreted with your own thoughts this really might be the clean version. Yes, there is anger, & often with a bit of a spiritual bend, as other songs include "Let Us Prey", "Scapes Of The Real", "A Quick Yet Painful Death" & "We Are Slaves To Machines". Dethcentrik has been called an industrial black metal band. Depending upon how you define industrial Dethcentrik still is or isn't. For those that see industrial in terms of Throbbing Gristle Dethcentrik has not gone anywhere else but only gotten more adventurous in the field. But, I believe most folks reading this blog aren't familiar with Throbbing Gristle & define industrial more in terms of Nine Inch Nails. For them I will say that Dethcentrik is still black but moving into a more avant-garde soundscape territory. The album that followed this one, The Fourth Reich goes even further with the soundscape idea & has all the angry lyrics this one doesn't have. Dethcentrik started out as a crashing drums, slashing guitars, shouted vocals & forever droning keyboards. Now there is more of a drone, less of a shout & more talking, less of the cacophonic disruptive crash. Now sounds are often distorted recordings of natural things. "Let Us Prey" sounds like heavily distorted guitars chugging through notes atonally, but knowing Dethcentrik it could be the changing of tv channels or a something else very common heavily electronically morphed. Against a fast drum beat & an eerie drone deep in the mix, probably also a non-instrument, Dethcentrik might still be difficult for some to listen to but has become fascinating because you probably have no idea what you're listening to. Dethcentrik becomes a band far more interesting than a one that says they have lots of emotion ... but the C chord however played is still the C chord. There's only so many sounds you can ring out of that before the word emotional or scary has no meaning has about as much shock value as Lady Gaga's new costume. Check out also "Realization Of Being In Hell" or the lengthy "A Quick Yet Painful Death" which is the drone of some distorted sound slowed down to unrecognizability. This is an Andy Warhol movie where anyone were anyone else would yell cut long before. Tolerance is key here, but Dethcentrik provides an interesting ride, with constant new output, for those interested in keeping track. Joining along for the ride is an addition to the Dethcentrik world via DJ Ribotic & Cold Metal Future. Each with their own track, I wouldn't call the songs remixes, but Dethcentrik has shared his music with others to great outcomes that are showing up more & more in the Dethcentrik catalog. The two guest artists take the simple lines of Dethcentrik, the simple droning, the single layers, & add to it quick beats, voices, quirky electronic lines & who knows what else for outcomes where it's hard to say what's Dethcentrik & what's the guest. I say this having heard a lot of Dethcentrik, too. Though, personally, the electronic quick beats lack variety & seem more just placed on the music than reflecting it. My suggestion would be beats that stop & start as the music takes a twist. There's a few moments of, I believe, real drums that do this.

Dethcentrik ~ Unhallowed Eve (album review) ... Keep your children at home!

Style: experimental, black metal, Halloween, instrumental
Label: Death Incarnate
Year: 2012
Home: Colorado

Members: Stefan Klein ~ all instruments

Can you name an album wrapped around the theme of Halloween? There's plenty of Christmas themed albums & even a few bands doing that theme ... but Halloween? I'm not talking about Smashing Pumpkins or Alice Cooper who use frightening imagery often equated with Halloween. I'm talking about the Halloween equivalent of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I can only think of one band/album in Dee Snider's Van Helsing's Curse. That was until Unhallowed Eve landed in my e-mail this month, an instrumental moody album that may not be singing about ghosts & goblins but is the sound you blast out the window when trick-or-treaters wander by. Dethcentrik is known for cacophonic absolutely barren mind-numbing black metal of guitars & screaming vocals & droning keyboards. Some call it industrial. Others call it noise. But, this is a new direction for Dethcentrik, far different from anything previously released by great leaps. Dethcentrik, originally a band but now a one-man outing, must have spent the last year in a cave with new musical influences. Early Dethcentrik was assaulting to the ears, even more so compared to this new release. They also were straight black metal with all the thorny heavily distorted guitars thrashing about in a maddening almost unlistenable at times rush. That's all been replaced by droning keyboard lines, though even that's been kept to a minimum here & instead replaced by naturally occurring sounds distorted beyond recognition into a moody hypnotic mesh that's more akin to a movie soundtrack, particularly being instrumental with no lyrics to distract from the visual. This album goes for the pleasure of sounds themselves & how they become something new on an organic level when twisted & turned & particularly stretched well beyond their natural length & near breaking point. "As The Birds Consume They Flesh Featuring Some Crows" is keyboards deep in the mix churning out droning wind like tones while squawking crows, in real time, form the main textural movement of the song, with occasional computer blips popping up. While "Must You leave So Soon" is just a weird wave of static, I believe, distorted beyond recognition into three minutes. Then there's "The Devil's Breath" following a similar path with a recording of wind distorted into nearly eleven minutes. That's another key here - length. There is no boundaries to time. Earlier Dethcentrik pushed the limits of listenability for many, once even accused by a critic for the excessive use of distortion. Now excessiveness has now been taken in a new direction. Personally, I find this much more exciting. & without a doubt I see the musical change the most exciting thing to discover. I love the sense of musical development into new territories, for both the listener & composer. I also like musicians that take risks. That's what music is essentially all about. & Dethcentrik pushes it with great braveness, such as with the 20 minute "The Sawmill" that is the sound of saws sawing away against an unrecognizable background of crunching drones. Perhaps the background is actually the saws given a computer make-over? That's what I believe makes up "The Possessed Music Box" which is heavily distorted tones against other tones. I believed they're all the same tones but thrown together to see what they'll spawn or how they'll push & pull each other. Strangeness at its best.

Dethcentrik ~ The Dark Chronicles (EP) (album review) ... Enter dark, exit light!

Style: black metal, experimental
Label: Death Incarnate Records
Year: 2011
Home: Colorado

Members: Stefan Klein ~ all instruments

When I write about an album I may have heard it previously or I may not. I usually take a few days, sometimes up to a week, to listen to it repeatedly & scribble something out. Sometimes after many listens I realize it's not something I want to write about after all, or maybe I'm having trouble moving the music to the medium of blank verse. Sometimes down the road when I hear it again I wouldn't mind rewriting the review as I hear new things or maybe I know more about the band & have heard more of their music & see a bigger context. I've become fans of many bands via reviewing them. But, it's no easy task. & that's ignoring just the pressure to write an interesting review better than what's out there. The last thing I worry about is my actual writing style. If you want to know how I really write when given time read one of my books. These reviews aren't about me but introducing new music. Dethcentrik I came upon by chance & was immediately intrigued after seeing bad review after bad review. I reviewed an album, later interviewed the founder for my podcast & was asked by him to remix some tracks of his for a forthcoming compilation. I'd like to think I've gotten to know Dethcentrik's music quite well & certainly more than any other reviewer. I still stand by my initial review but at the same time I'll confess that in later listens I've found new perspectives to worth through. I've found the nuances in the musical experiment that is Dethcentrik. But, Dethcentrik is a hard band to take. It's not for every listener. I said that before & my view hasn't changed. Frontman Stefan Klein will not disagree either, though he'll also point out that Dethcentrik is not the Satanic industrial death metal band everyone seems to feel it is. The music does indeed have a violent sound but its inherently not violent. It's frustrated not destructive in its attitude. Though, the complete absence of normal melody, harmony & reliance on near droning gothic piano & random screeching vocals does lean into the stereotype. & getting on a church's public threat watch list doesn't help things, even if it's based on a letter Klein wrote to a newspaper decrying religious hypocrisy only casually mentioning he was in a band. But, as he said, that was certainly something interesting to find on a google search. For some listeners the opening number "Enter Dark, Exit Light" will recall prison era Burzum with its four minute keyboard wafting in a smoky atmosphere of distortion. The melody lines are simple - one note, a couple notes, moving seemingly at random yet keeping around a root. The melody repeats a dark motif feeling like its resisting straying too far from its origin. It's like this is a silent horror film & Dethcentrik is the music that's been layered over it by the live organist. Other albums by Dethcentrik have included flashes of distorted guitars interrupting the procession. It's that jarring competition of sounds that has driven many listeners away & led to bitter reviews. Here everything is trimmed down to just the basics, partly driven by the fact that the other instruments were played by members of the band now long gone. "Stalking Beast Of The Night" follows a similar music direction but jumps instead of staying on long notes, while the distortion has increased & a fast drum loop churns deep in the background. It also features Dethcentrik's alienating top of lungs screaming like a goose being strangled. But, the screaming does provide a break from the dominating keyboard lines, even if the lyrics are completely indecipherable. As the album progresses through its three tracks the music seems to move from simple to complicated. The final track "Going Into The Light" has the same keyboard but with heavier chords that appear & disappear. It goes on a bit too long with not enough variation. Dethcentrik have crafted some super minimalist death metal here. It won't be for everyone & some will still call it garbage & certainly for some other releases I would sympathize. But, here Klein has cut everything away to the basics & thus it comes across much different than other outings. But, like all music, it's all in how you hear it. Two people will never hear the same song in the same way. I don't know if that's good or bad! Some people say the same thing about Dethcentrik!

Dethcentrik ~ Why The Innocent Die Young (EP) (album review) ... The demise of mankind in song!

Style: black metal, instrumental, experimental, industrial
Label: Dod Incarnate Records
Year: 2011
Home: Colorado

Members: Gunner Harkey, Stefan Klein ~ all instruments

Additional: Lauren McDonald ~ vocals

Not every band I hear gets reviewed. Some I just don't like, some aren't that good, some are good but the music sounds like too many other bands & not individualistic enough. Some of my favorite bands have yet to be reviewed cause they're just not that out of the ordinary, even if they do rock hard. My goal with this blog has always been bands with a personality or something interesting about them. I openly confess to giving special status to submissions from independent bands, but I have declined to write about a few for the said reasons. I don't have any qualms writing a bad review, though I tend to want to endorse bands over hurting them & with that in mind will always try to put in a bad review something good to create some sort of balance. I don't want people listening to a band just to hear bad music. I want them to listen to hear something interesting & perhaps be inspired. But, sometimes its hard to say something good about an album cause it's disaster on four legs. It's easier to write about the ideas of what the music is trying to do or about, than the music itself. Public Image, Ltd. made a legacy with their release Second Edition that attempted to not be punk or rock, but was a wandering Can-esque sound effects romp. It was about pushing the boundaries to the limit, perhaps even including the boundary of listenability, so everyone that follows doesn't have to do it & can get back to playing good old music. The album has since been held up as a legacy maker & cock-eyed inspiration. In the metal world it's hard to pinpoint an album that has done the same thing & at this point in time it's too late for something to be created. The early Norwegian black metal scene might be close but the artistic element is missing. Perhaps its because headbangers like to bang their heads not tap their chins in contemplation, or maybe because they're beer drinking looking for a party not drug addicts gazing out from a fix grooving on the eternal immobility of the wallpaper. In terms of braving new directions industrial death metal band Dethcentik is interesting. In terms of listenability or musicality it's ghastly. It's aiming to be ghastly in terms of mood but its just ghastly across the board. Since discovering Sunn 0))) I've found myself interested in the world of black drone metal, that form of metal that focuses on directionless long droning notes over melody/harmony/rhythm & takes more interest in the organically created sounds within the sounds. Perhaps its my long time interest in Lou Reed & his experiments with droning that has led me here. As it is, my own music as Blank Faced Prophet is drone metal & has its own ghastly moments, I'll confess. Dethcentrik isn't exactly drone metal, but pretty close, verging somewhere between it & weak no-depth industrial. They employ largely instrumental songs with a focus on long drawn out notes, no melody/harmony or rhythm, some drumming, few layers between a keyboard or guitar & an often torturous degree of distorted guitars with lots of directionless repetitious riffing. The undiscernible growled vocals are just another musical element rather than a focus. "The Demise Of Mankind" features a keyboard playing long notes abruptly cut off by overly distorted guitars repeating & repeating giving Dethcentrik a hearkening to early Mayhem, including the low-fi production. The distortion is so heavy & melody so weak & repetitious that one's ears gets into the space around the riffs instead of the riffs themselves. The rest of the five tracks feature more keyboards than anything, droning away with no direction or focus or any sense of anything but pure sound for the sake of it. The result will be a strain to listen to for most ears. There is a world out there that likes this type of music, as there's a world out there that makes it. Though, this type of music is often made simply for the enjoyment of the musicians themselves rather than any reachable audience & it's truly art for art's sake. The elusive audience that is out there will surely gravitate to the dark moodiness of the keyboards. They'll also enjoy the creativity of "Columbine Justice Spree" that includes a vocal narrative of the event against keyboards & strummed guitars, which includes only a slight touch of distortion at first but quickly goes into straight double bass death metal. I always welcome those musicians trying to do new things & push the levels of sound, whether I like the result or not. As a writer & musician myself I've often been more inspired to go in odd directions than traditional approaches. Even though the outcome has been less listeners & no market I've been proud of the experiment & it's often led to something more welcomed by the masses. In that sense Dethcentrik has achieved something to be proud of. Dethcentrik makes all their releases available for free online. Also of note, the band has come under criticism for their heavy use of distortion & poor production. They've found themselves with a video banned by youtube & been placed on a religious community threat list in Colorado. For a little obscure band they must be doing something right. This has also been called by one reviewer as the worst release of 2011.